The Prime Minister’s announcement last month that local councils would be required to publish details of all expenditure above £500 was welcomed by transparency campaigners, and hailed by the Communities Secretary as a ‘revolution’ in local government.

But concern is increasingly being voiced about the manner in which this disclosure is being handled. The Guardian’s Data Blog this morning published ‘five principles for transparency’, highlighting some of the perceived problems.

The CountCulture blog identifies a number of problems with the SpotlightOnSpend which publishes local authority financial data, arguing that it “doesn't open up the data… [and] undermines much of the good work that's been done.”

So just how worried should transparency activists be?

SpotlightOnSpend (SoS) is a free service run by the private sector company Spikes Cavell. Since launching in May, a number of authorities have used the website publish details of their expenditure, including Windsor and Maidenhead Council and Waverley Borough Council.

Amongst the concerns being raised are the restrictions placed on the use of the data made available through SpotlightOnSpend.

As it stands, the terms and conditions placed on users of SoS data mean that it cannot be used for commercial use. This would seem to undermine Mr Pickles’s stated aim to “open the door to new businesses and encourage greater innovation and entrepreneurism.”

Another objection to the service lies in the format in which the data is published, which is not machine readable, and therefore difficult to analyse in large volumes.

Adrian Short of the Armchair Auditor website said: “There are plenty of people out there with the time, talent and inclination to scrutinise this data, but this can't happen unless the data is available in a machine-readable format with an open licence.”

Full Fact put these concerns to Luke Spikes, Chief Executive at Spikes Cavell, who told us that the purpose and origin of his company’s website had been fundamentally misinterpreted by bloggers.

He said: “The attacks on the SpotlightOnSpend website presume that we are restricting access to public data. In fact we are making available our own data, which is why there are restrictions on commercial use.”

“Local authorities have not expressly given us permission to publish their data. The Government’s drive to make these available is a separate point over which we have no control,” he added.

Mr Spikes also pointed to the fact that SpotlightOnSpend will indeed be publishing raw, machine-readable data in tandem with the “refined” Spikes Cavell information currently available.

Whilst Full Fact supports calls for greater access to local government data, bloggers and commentators do need to ensure that the clamour for transparency doesn’t obscure the facts. In this instance, it seems that the ire that has been directed at the SpotlightOnSpend website has been misplaced.